Why so many optimistic scientists are losing heart
Preview:
Despite an era of remarkable scientific breakthroughs in cancer treatment, gene therapy, and other fields, federal research funding is failing to reach universities at normal levels, with MIT reporting a drop of more than 20% in campus research activity compared to the prior year. The slowdown threatens not just current projects but the pipeline of graduate students and the decades-long chain of curiosity-driven discovery that produces tomorrow's treatments and technologies. With China now surpassing the U.S. as the world's largest funder of research and development, the piece warns that allowing the scientific pipeline to run dry will have consequences that won't be felt immediately but will prove severe and lasting.
Originally published: May 27, 2026
Author: Sally Kornbluth
Position: President
Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Published by: STAT News